(((Hugs))). I have a host of auto-immunes disorders. I don’t know how long it’s been for you, but there is a definite grieving process with chronic illness. It comes and goes, but as time goes on you spend more and more time in the “acceptance†stage. It sounds like your therapist is trying to rush you right there, but it’s OK to spend time grieving (just try to stay out of the denial stage, particularly with bipolar.)

A couple of "papers" that might help. Check the references for more possibilities: Increase of aluminum particles in the environment due to chemtrails during the period of autumn 2012 to summer 2015 within Lahore, Pakistan http://www.agriculturedefensecoalition.org/sites/default/files/file/geo_scheme_16/16Z_2011_Geoengineering_by_Ananda_Global_Research_July_30_2010.pdf One of the government patents that provides fodder: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=4&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=5003186&OS=5003186&RS=5003186 ( How it's used is explained here http://www.dldewey.com/columns/chemtrails.htm ) It's not perfect, but if you use scholar.google.com, you'll get more results with an academic bent. Maybe you can pull 5 references from those. Good Luck!!

One of the reasons I wanted the instant pot was to switch to dried beans. I make chili with beef, veggies, canned tomatoes and beans. Most of the instant pot recipes I’ve found still use canned beans and tomatoes. Does anyone have an easy recipe with the dried beans? Also, I get that I can sauté the beef in the instant pot, but how do you easily drain it? Trying to tip that large, no-handles insert and then clean the lip so it seals seems like it would be more difficult than just browning in another pan.

We’ll figure it out...we’re homeschoolers...we just have to pretend we are going to design a class to teach our kids how to use it and our superpowers will come out...(It’s like making Hulk mad.)

This is the help I’ve been needing. I did make the rice, but I read the instructions several times flipping pages back and forth to figure out what you said so perfectly above. I worry about the exploding, too. My mother (born in 1933) said she would never have a pressure cooker as they were too dangerous. She remembered injuries of people through her life. So at 50, I have never used one until the rice Thursday.

You, Gail, are an enabler!!! But really that is great! As I look for a job, I realize that companies should be recruiting homeschool moms rather than looking askance at that break. We really have some undersold mad skills.

I got mine at an amazon sale after Christmas in 2015 and used it for the first time last night. I don't know why, but I'm sort of afraid of it, too, and I just haven't had the brain capacity to learn something new. I made rice last night, it was great, and it was really cool that it didn't stick. I want to try some simple things, but I am overwhelmed by the number of recipes out there.

Yes, it really is all about being a good service dog as much as the breed, though you can increase the odds with a specific breed. I've had two standards, my boy passed away at nearly 15 a few months ago, my little girl is 10. He had the retrieve drive so much that one of the early commands we taught was "Last One," so he knew there would be no more and we could relax outside. He learned to retrieve things from around the house and was brilliant and incredibly eager to please. My little girl will chase the ball maybe three times but only if it takes an exciting bounce. She will occasionally bring a specific toy when asked, but just isn't into it. She's happy to discover new ways to con us out of food and just snuggle. On the other hand, she knows before I do when my heart is acting up and does everything in her power to get me to sit with her. They had different personalities from birth, but it would have taken someone incredibly trained to see them early and nurture their skills. They would have both been excellent service dogs, but in different ways.

This is true. There are kids and teens that are being abused or are troubled and need someone to turn to. Many of the decent people and organizations are moving to two deep. As a survivor, it’s hard enough to develop a rapport and feel safe to tell one person. Two would have been impossible. I don’t know a solution, but just wanted to comment on this other side.

This is an interesting way to put it. So much focus is on how predators groom the children, but we need to be mindful that they are grooming the caregivers also. The real difficulty is seeing the difference between people who are genuinely nice and those that are grooming. Except for listening to their kids, what could the parents have seen in Nassar that distinguished his “nice†behavior as deceptive instead of real?

We have one of the emergency ladders that isn’t single use. It is worth practicing. If you have an older house with small windows, it is hard to squeeze out particularly with a kid in arms. It helps to have a piece of furniture in front of the escape window that can be used as a step up to the window if it is chest height. Remember you are going out legs first onto a ladder or rope.

http://www.businessinsider.com/super-bowl-2018-all-the-commercials-2018-2 Here they all are in order of airing if you want to catch up. Tide was my favorite...shades of the original Energizer Bunny ads. Alexa made me laugh, and I’ll take Chris Hemsworth any day.

I'm in the US, but I handle all of my dad's retirement since my mom died. They had a stock that sold to a Canadian company in 2017. I had to fill out several Canadian tax forms to declare dividends. I chose to go ahead and sell the stock to use that money for his living expenses last year. I'm sure we earned a few Canadian dividends in the short time we held it, and there would be capital gains on the sale. I have always done all of our taxes, but I may hire someone for Dad's this year. But I do want to understand myself what will happen. When are capital gains and dividend taxes due in Canada? Will I get reports like a 1099 in the mail, or do I have to figure out myself what goes on the form? I feel like sticking my head in the sand as I don't even know where to find a tax preparer that I trust, but I know I need to get on the ball with this!

There are no sufficient words...I'm so, so sorry :grouphug:

I took forever to type my response, so didn't see yours before. I'm sorry that you go through this, too. Sometimes, I think the chronically ill and disabled are just as invisible as the addicts. We hide it as best we can, and stay home when we can't.

I wish I could share more stories than my own, but this article is a window: https://www.painnewsnetwork.org/stories/2016/5/27/are-cdcs-opioid-guidelines-causing-more-suicides

As someone who is in group (and individual) therapy for chronic pain. Many chronic pain patients, who aren't addicted, were normal, middle class, productive citizens until that car accident, illness, or whatever. Many of them, with proper pain management can lead productive lives again. Without proper pain management, they sit on the couch, draw disability, and become more and more depressed. Some of us really care about those people and see the "solution" to the opioid epidemic as taking away their lives. It's really not that we don't care about the addicts. Chronic pain is different. The advil/tylenol thing can really help...but with constant use, many develop allergies to the NSAIDS and your liver can only take so much tylenol before the doc says no more. For me the NSAIDS allergy was five years ago and now my liver numbers are up. For some people careful opioid use is the best answer, and I feel for the people losing that. One thing that isn't mentioned is that some people DON'T become addicted even with long term use. It's 40-60% genetic, not under an individual's control. Addicts aren't bad people any more than I am a bad person for developing an allergy to NSAIDS. I just suffer with therapy and natural options. It's been years since I used an opioid. When I did, I took it two nights a week. The pain is so horrible that sleep is rare. Just a couple of nights sleep a week was enough to make me functional and productive. Other people I know do take it daily, and it is enough to work. They wouldn't be working without it. As the opioid epidemic reaction increases, some of these people are having their lives taken away. I wish I had a solution. I think better medical care would help so much. More contact with the patients to understand who is being helped and who is being hurt by the pills? Maybe nurse practitioners that have time to talk to the patient, rather than a doc who spends 5 minutes and decides refill or no refill? Treating marijuana just like any other drug in the system? Insurance paying for constant therapy for chronic pain patients? I just wanted to share the other side to show that people who are concerned about the "solution" aren't heartless.

Bill mentioned putting a sprayer in the hydrogen peroxide bottle. You can do this with alcohol, too. (Some Walmarts sell them this way.) We were told not to use vinegar or any acid on the granite countertop, because it shortens the life of the sealant. Alcohol is supposed to be fine, so I use the alcohol spray bottle to help kill germs.

That's what I thought.

I don't know about longevity, but the size is perfect for me. I still have my iPhone 5s and despite what everyone else says, I REALLY love the small size and hate it when I have to use ds's or dh's phones. I plan to hold onto the 5s as long as I can and then switch to the SE.

I'd be worried about this, too! I'd run it supervised quite a few times, before leaving it for the next resident.

This week? Hard as Hoof and Zoya Nail Polish I'm always buying things mentioned here or coming here to check opinions. I actually think I'm a bit uncomfortable buying new products without checking the Hive first!! Such a wealth of knowledge and experience here.

I'm back and getting my first post in under the wire. I started strong last year, but ended up in the hospital the end of February. You'd think that would give lots of time to read, but the meds and the stress made that difficult, so I moved to watching TV series last year and stopped keeping track of books. I'm moving back into the workforce full time so most of what reading I've done has been technical stuff. I haven't read anything yet this year (unless this thread counts!!), but I'm pulling out my old lists and a long list from ds to pick my first of the year. See y'all in the next thread!

I found it easier and less stressful to just do what our local public school district does. I could make many arguments for all kinds of credit, but just being able to say, "That's what they do in this district" made my life easier. I did the same thing with extra quality points for the GPA. That decision cut off hours (and probably days) of agonizing on my part.

I was wondering if this was part of the reason that the other sons aren't offering to pay. Maybe they have talked to the parents about that fact that staying in the home isn't sustainable. From personal experience, they may have talked to them over and over and over about it. At some point, the only hope is to stop doing all of the bail-outs and let them see that they really can't do it themselves. I definitely think it's time for a real conversation amongst the kids. Just like parents dealing with children, when dealing with elderly parents there needs to be a united front.